Automobile distress signal



May 19,1936. c. F. DE LANNOY l `AUTOMOBILE DISTRESS SIGNAL 2Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 29, 1954 74441:.vllillrllnillillllUr 2 S11ets.sheeJC 2 W il C. F. DE LANNOY AUTOMOBILE DISTREss SIGNAL Filed May 29,1954` nmumm Mullin nlmllml Illll m' mi i May 19,1936.

Patented May 19, 1936 UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMOBILE DISTRESSSIGNAL mel, Calif.

Application May 29, 1934, Serial No. '728,167

9 Claims.

This invention relates to an automobile theft signalling device, and hasfor its object the production of a simple and eflicient signallingdevice which may be so actuated as to signal for help in the event thatan automobile should be stolen.

Another object of this invention is the production of a simple andenicient signalling device which may be actuated from the drivers seatfor the purpose of releasing the signalling device and signal for helpin the event that an automobile should be held up by a highwayman orother criminal, and the driver thereof compelled to move over from thedriving position to the right hand side o-f the seat. Y

A further object of this invention is the provision of a simple andefficient signalling device which may be mounted upon the rear end of aVehicle for supporting the license tag, the signalling device beingconstructed and actuated from the drivers seat of the vehicle throughthe medium of a push-button on the floor adjacent the clutch pedal so asto release the signalling device and signal for help. Y

A still further lobject of this invention is the production of a simple:and eicient signalling device `whereby a visible signal may bedisplayed in the event of the stealing of a vehicle, and whereby arecord card identifying the vehicle may be immediately dropped upon thehighway when the signalling device is operated.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention Will appearthroughout the :following specification and claims.

In the drawings:-

Figure 1 is a rear elevation ofthe signalling device, certain partsthereof being broken away;

Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure '1;

Figure 3 is a section taken on Vthe line 3-3 of Figure 1;

AFigure 4 is a top plan View partly in section of the floor board of thevehicle showing the relative position of the clutch and brake pedals,the starter button, andthe signal release button;

Figure 5 is a rear elevation ofthe signalling device shown in an open or.released position;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view through the signal casing in theclosed position taken on line 6 6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the lower cornersof the hinged door of the signalling device which isadapted to supportthe license plate.

By referring to the drawings, it will beseen that y, l0 designatesitheconventional license plate holder Which vmay support the conventionaltail-light I I. It should be understood that any suitable or desiredsupporting means, such as the holder I8 and the relative location of thetail-light II may be varied without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In carrying out my invention, I preferably mount the signal casing I2upon the support I0, which support may be of any suitable or desiredstructure or type, the Signal casing I2 preferably being of a box-likestructure, and being secured to the support I8 by means of suitablesecuring bolts I3. This signal casing I2 is provided with a rearhingeddoor I4, the door being secured to the casing I2 `by means of suitablehinges I5. This door I2 carries upon its outer face a conventionallicense plate I5, which license plate I6 may be supported upon the doorin any suitable `or desired manner. The casing I2 is placed below thetail-light Il in the conventional manner so that the light II will castits rays down upon the interior of the casing I2 when the door I4 isswung to an open position and when the door I4 is in a' closed position,the tail-light is adapted to illuminate the llicense plate I6 as will beobvious.

The linner face of the casing I2 s-preferably provided with suitableindicia or printed Words preferably red on White background, the wordspreferably being Help police, as indicated by the numeral II. The wordsare preferably displayed in bold letters to attract attention to thesignal. .Located `in the upper end of the casing I2 is apair ofoppositely extending spring pressed bolts I8, each bolt I8 being mountedwithin a suitable casing or housing I9, the springs 20 being mountedwithin the housing I9 and normally urging the bolts I8 to an extendedposition. Each bolt I8 is provided with a reduced extension 2|, and thereduced extensions 2| of the bolts I8 are connected to the pull wires22, which pull Wires 22 are in turn connected to a central pull wire 23passing through a conduit 24 secured to the casing I2. A suitableguiding elbow device 38 is carried at the inner end of the conduit 24 toconstitute a guide for the pull wires 22. 'Ihe conduit 24 passes underthe floor board 25 and the pull Wire 23`is connected-to an operatingplunger 28, which plunger 2B is slidably mounted through a sleeve 27carried by the iioor board 25. 'Ihe plunger '26 `carries a button 28 atits outer end and acoil spring 29 is carried by the plunger 26 tonormally'hold the plunger in an inwardly extended position with respectto the oor board 25. When it is desired to actuate the signal the button28 may be-depressed to force the plunger 26 to the position shown indotted lines in Figure 3, thereby pulling upon the cable 23 and pullingthe plungers I8 inwardly of the casing I9.

The inner face of the door I4 supports a pair of socket lugs 38 whichare adapted to be normally engaged by the outer ends of the plungers orbolts I8 for the purpose of holding the door in a closed position. Asthe bolts I8 fit in the socket lugs 30, the door I4 will be heldin aclosed position, but as the cable 23 is pulled by the depression of thebutton 28, the bolts I8 will be drawn out of engagement with the socketlugs 30 and the door I4 will immediately swing to the position shown indotted lines in Figure 3, displaying the signal within the casing I2.

As shown in Figure 4, the button 28 and plunger 26 are preferablylocated near the clutch pedal 3| to facilitate the operation of thesignal as will be hereinafter described.

To facilitate the opening of the door I4, a conical coil spring 32 issecured to the inner face of the door I4, the enlarged end of the coilspring being Xed in any suitable or desired manner to vthe inner face ofthe door I4 and the smaller or tapered end ofthe coil spring is adaptedto ft around the retaining pin or lug 33 which is secured to the casing.This spring 32 is of the expansion type and as soon as the door I4 isreleased the expansion of the spring 32 will c-ause the spring to beforced off the retaining pin 33 and immediately swing the door I4 to anopen position. The pin 33 is merely adapted to hold the spring 32 in itsproper relative position when the door is closed. Secured to this springis a lfabric or other suitable pennant 34 preferably made of red clothfor the purpose of adding further means for attracting attention as Wellas signalling for help.

As an additional means of identication, a card 35 may be supported uponthe inner face of the door I4 by resting in the angle retaining clip,which angle retaining clip 36 is provided with an overhanging flange 3lto normally hold the card 35 in a position upon the inner face of thedoor I4. The card 35 only rests within the angle retaining clip 36suficiently to normally rest in position when the door is closed andallow the card to drop immediately o-ut of the clip 3l when the door isswung to an open position. The swinging movement of the door and theresultant movement of the car upon which the signal is mounted will alsotend to jar the card 35 loose or release the same. This card 35preferably contains a notice reading Help call police, and contains arecord giving the name of the owner, the make of the car, the licensenumber, the engine number, the style of the body, the color of the body,the address and telephone number of the owner. Other identifying meansmay also be contained upon the card, if desired, and the card may beprinted on both sides.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that a very simple andeicient signalling device has been provided which will permit theoccupant of a car or the owner of the car to release a signal if heshould be held up in an attempt to steal the car, and if ordered to stopthe driver will naturally depress the clutch pedal and in so doing hemay slightly shift his foot and at the same time depress the button 28,thereby releasing the signal and opening the door I4.

Furthermore, should the car be unoccupied and an attempt be made tosteal the same, it is quite probable that the thief would not befamiliar with the operation of the signal and inV actuating the clutchpedal 3|, the button 28 would also in all probability be depressedsooner or later, thereby actuating the signal and greatly increasing thechances of apprehending the thief and recovering the stolen car orautomobile.

As will be obvious by considering the drawings, the signalling deviceonly supports the rear 1ioense plate and the front license plate willremain supported in the conventional manner. Normally, the licensenumber of the car may be readily observed for the purpose ofidentification, but when the signalling device is in operation the factthat the license number does not appear upon the rear of the car willalso tend to call attention to the signalling device.

It should be understood that certain detail changes in the mechanicalconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts may be employedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention, so long as thesechanges fall within the scope of the appended claims, and the particulardesign of the casing or call box may be varied tov flt the plate holderand tail light bracket of the various types of cars upon which thedev1ce may be used.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:-

1. A signalling device of the class described comprising a casing havingvisible signalling means, a door hinged to said casing and adapted to beswung to a shielding position to prevent the observation of thesignalling means, remote control means carried by the casing andengaging the door for normally holding the door in a closed position andcapable of being released from said door to permit the door toautomatically swing to an open displaying position, said door beingadapted to support a license plate upon its outer face, and meanscarried by the door and engaging the casing for facilitating the movingof the door from a closed to an open position when released.

2. A signa-lling device of the class described comprising a casinghaving visible signalling means, a door hinged to said casing andadapted to be swung to a shielding position to prevent the observationof the signalling means, remote control means carried by the casing andengaging the door for normally holding the door in a closed position andcapable of being released from said door to permit the door toautomatically swing to an open displaying position, said door beingadapted to support a license plate upon its outer face, and a springcarried by the door and engaging the casing for facilitating themovement of the door from a closed to an open position when released.

3. A signal of the class described comprising a casing, a door hingedlysecured to the lower edge of said casing, oppositely extending springpressed plungers carried by the casing, latching lugs carried by thedoor and engageable by said plungers for normally holding the door in aclosed position, remote control means engaging the plungers forreleasing the plungers from said lugs whereby said door may be swungfrom a closed to an open position when said plungers are released, andsaid casing carrying visible signalling means.

4. A signal of the class described comprising a casing, a door hingedlysecured to the lower edge of said casing, oppositely extending springpressed plungers carried by the casing, latching lugs carried by thedoor and engageable byv said plungers for normally holding the door in aclosed position, remote control means engaging the plungers forreleasing the plungers from said lugs whereby said door may be swungfrom a closed to an open position when said plungers are released, saidcasing carrying visible signalling means, and a conical expansion springsecured to said door and having the reduced end thereof contacting withthe casing for normally exerting an outward opening pressure upon thedoor to facilitate the opening of the door when released, and guidingmeans carried by the casing and engaging the reduced end of the conicalspring for holding the spring in engagement with the casing when thedoor is in a closed position.

5. A signal of the class described comprising a casing, a door hingedlysecured to the lower edge of said casing, oppositely extending springpressed plungers carried by the casing, latching lugs carried by thedoor and engageable by said plungers for normally holding the door in aclosed position, remote control means engaging the plungers forreleasing the plungers from said lugs whereby said door may be swungfrom a closed to an open position when said plungers are released, saidcasing carrying visible signalling means, a conical expansion springsecured to said door and having the reduced end thereof contacting withthe casing for normally exerting an outward opening pressure upon thedoor to facilitate the opening of the door when released, guiding meanscarried by the casing and engaging the reduced end of the conical springfor holding the spring in engagement with the casing when the door is ina closed position, and a signal pennant carried by the door.

6. A signalling device of the class described comprising a support, adoor carried by the support, a visible signal displayed upon saidsupport, the door being adapted to normally hide the visible signal whenthe door is in a closed position, means for normally holding the door ina closed position, remote control means for releasing the door, and anidentification means releasably carried by the door and adapted to Ybedetached from the door when the door is swung to an open position.

7. In combination with an automobile having a iloor board, a clutchpedal, an operating plunger located adjacent 'the clutch pedal, a signalcasing having a visible signal means, a door hinged to said casing andadapted to normally remain in a closed position for shielding thevisible signal means, and means engaging the door and carried by thecasing and controlled by said plunger for releasing the door andallowing the door to swing from a closed to an open position.

8. A signalling device of the class described comprising a support, asignal carried by said support, a closure member releasably supportedupon the support for normally hiding said signal and movable to uncoversaid signal for displaying said signal, means for locking the closuremember in a position to hide the signal from view, and means forreleasing the locking means whereby the closure member may move to aposition to uncover said signal for displaying said signal.

9. A signal of the class described comprising a support, a visiblesignalling means carried by the support, a closure member supported inconjunction with the support and adapted to carry a license tag, lockingmeans for holding said closure member in a position upon said supportwhereby the visible signalling means will be shielded from view, andmeans for releasing said locking means and causing said closure memberto drop away from said visible signalling means for displaying saidvisible signalling means.

CHARLES F. DE LANNOY.

